Protecting device for use in opening cans containing liquids gaseously fortified



April 13, 1965 G. K. DAvlDsoN 3,177,580 PROTECTING DEVICE FOR USE IN OPENING CANS CCNTAINING LIQUIDS GASEOUSLY FORTIFIED Filed Jan. 17, 1963 BY GERALD .DAV10soN llfwryej United States Patent Oiiice 3,177,580 Patented Apr. 13, 1965 3,177,530 PROTECTING DEVICE FOR USE IN OPENING CANS CONTAINING LIQUIDS GASEOUSLY FORTIFIED Gerald K. Davidson, Robinson Road, Highland Heights, Ky. Filed dan. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 252,094 3 Claims. (Cl. 30-1) This invention relates to improvements in a shield, particularly a shield for use with can openers of the can top piercing variety.

Many items of a liquid nature are supplied to the user in cans having secured thereto the top and which liquid is obtained from the can through an aperture or opening formed therein by the user through the use of a small hand operated openen Some of the liquids supplied in said cans have incorporated therewith gas of different kinds, such as carbonated gas, in the so called Lsoft drinks as well as beer and the like.

In the handling of cans of gased or carbonated liquids 4the contents become agitated and have a tendency to f boily or etiervesce, particularly, if the said liquid content is at room temperature, such as 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. When a can containing said gased or carbonated liquid is pierced the contents has a tendency to explode, that is upwardly spout until the pressure generated by the lgas has been released.

The present invention pertains to a shield for use with the can opener or piercer, to prevent the above noted explosion or effervescence reaching the user by intercepting the same .and returning it harmlessly to the top o-f Ithe can.

Broadly, shields for this purpose are not new in the present application but as heretofore produced considerable diiiculty was encountered in combining the shield with the can opener or piercer, with certain of the prior structures being so elaborate that .the expense in producing same made them impractical.

The principal object of the present invention is, therefore, the provision of a shield for use with can openers of the piercing type that can be readily mounted on said can openers as presently known and used.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a shield for use with can openers of the piercing type in which the structures of the said shield and can opener, as heretofore known and used, are employed to readily combine or attach one to the other.

' A still further object of the present invention is the provision 'of a shield for use with a can opener of the piercing type and wherein said shield has an a-r-ea greater than the area of the open-ing being formed, with said shield either of a relatively at body portion or a body portion of a novel and relatively grotesque form and either located substantially adjacent the can top being t pierced or located quite remotely from said can top but yin each instance the said shield body portion having an .area greater `than the area of the opening being pierced and said shield including integral means for securing the shield in operative position on the said can opener.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention should be readily apparent by reference to `the following specication considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof and it is to be understood that any modifications may be -rnade in the yexact structural details there shown and described, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from or exceeding the spirit of the invention.

FIG. l is a perspective View of a simple inexpensive can opener of the piercing type as presently on the market and commonly employed for providing cans with an opening for drainage of liquid therefrom.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 having a shield of the present invention mounted in operative position thereon.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary,` longitudinal, sectional view through a portion of the can opener as seen from line 3-3 on FIG. 2. g

PIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken at right angles to FIG. 3 as seen on line `4 4 on said FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of thefshield, per se, as illustrated in operative positions in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of the shield.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a further modilied form of the shield.

FIG. 8 is .a cross-sectional view, similar to FIG. 3, showing the lmodified shield of FIG. 7 in an operative position other than that of actually shielding the can opening while in process of being formed.

FIG. 9 is a perspective of a portion, mainly the attaching portion, of a shield embodying the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating the shield attaching means of FIG. 9 in operative position and with a shield designed as one incorporating an amusing and decorative shield member.

Throughout the several views of the drawings similar reference characters are employed to denote the same or similar parts.

As noted above, there is illustrated in FIG. 1, what may ibe called, broadly, an implement, designated in its entirely by the reference numeral 12, and including a can opener of the piercing type such as is presently ern- -ployed and well known. As a mater of fact the implement ilustrated in FIG. 1 is further a bottle opener, that is, .a device for removing a so called fcrown cap or closure member from a bottle.

Specifically the implement can and bottle opener, in FIG. l is stamped or formed from a strip of sheet metal and includes a rectangular body portion 13 having the bottle opener, indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 14, at one end thereof and a piercing type of can opener, indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 15, at its other end. As is Well known a crown cap or bottle closure consists of a closure body member from the periphery of which projects a flange that is crimped around a bead at the upper end of the bottle or its neck, and the bottle opener 14 comprises a linger 16 that normally lies on top of the crown cap body portion with said ringer having extending therefrom a shoulder 17 with said shoulder having projecting therefrom a tongue or lug i8 that underlies the cap crimped flange. The operation of the bottle opener is Vwell kno-wn and the above description is merely for identifying the disclosure in the drawing.

The can opener or piercer 15 is quite similar in construction to the bottle opener in that it has a finger 19 which is diamond shaped and terminates in a piercing point 20. The linger 19 is adapted to lie on the upper surface of the can top, again, as is well known. The can top is secured to the body of the can through a seam thereby in effect providing the can at the end of its body portion with a radial, outward, flange that has perceptible height. The can opener piercer at the broad end of the finger 19 has downwardly projecting therefrom a wall or shoulder 21 with its lower end integral with the implement body portion 13. The said shoulder or wall member 21 is provided substantially centrally, transversely, thereof and substantially for its full height with an opening 22 and with the material from said opening extending outwardly and downwardly of the implement body portion 13 as a lug 23, see FIG. 3. The said lug 23 is adapted, in use, to underlie the can bead or seam and is provided or moldedfrom synthetic resin,

'.as illustrated Vvin FIGS,4 `Z, V3,

.rectangularginv area-and of considerably greateriarea than 'I 'he 4'said shieldrbod'y i shield to the implement. i n l As -will be noted, particularly 'from FlG.'4, w ith the gplacing of thefingers 35 and V36 at .itsffree end with asmall hook 24 to cause itsl finger or piercing element 19V to form' the opening in thecantop. f t l t t The "operation of the Vcan opener or .piercer is lwell known and it .is atthe moment that the piercing point 20 Vcuts through the can top that the pressure gas escapesY carrying vwith it the liquidof theca`n.v "The shield, as noted above, of the present linvention, cornes intov play lat this time for preventing the 'said gasand cannedliquid rorn-sprayingorcontacting theoperator,

' vWhile the s heldi of the present.inventionrnayabeinale.y 'Y

of any appropriatematerial tit fknown as Yplasticf The various l that acts asa fulcrurn" during theactuation of the implement `about .the can bead Vthe shoulder 21, no interference Vvis giveninl the. normal operation of the lcan piercing mechanism. t Y

The modified shield in FLG. 6 difier-s',l primarily from f the disclosure in tFICi.V inthat t-he body portion 25vis illustrated as somewhat circular, however, fof anl area to effectively coverv or shield the opening inthe can `top as formed by th'e lpiercing finger 19. Furthermore the modication in .FIGL vhasgeliminated therefromthe ears 32a is preferablycut, stamped Y' that is, whatrisgpopularly formsof the shield illus-V i trated in the drawings are respectively. indicated, vinthe drawings,-in their entirety, jby thegreferenc'e numeral 24.*v

The actual form offthe shield may beconsiderably` Varied 'but must include `ajbofly` portion '25' of' an' :are'a, atl-least, to completely cover Y and, preferably, vto outwardly project fromthe. sides and.`

the Yopening kbeing formed piercing pointlof the -finger"19.; ,The shield body` portion the can opener, piercing finger V19.y

4 and -5, is substantiallyD t v' and'33a and .depend entirelyon thevfingers 35 and35 for :lo

"Obviouslytheshield body;portion25fof FIG. 5 may i take theQcontourLoi'the body portion 25' .of FIG. 6 and similarly the ,ears 3`2a'and 33d of "FI'G 5 may be added of FIG. 6., f 1

rion z5r ofgErG. 5 withouuhe' earsszaand ssa thereof.

Outwardlyextending ffrornthe attaching fingers 35 and 36 v the shield of FIG; 7 ,includesl'a stabilizing tongue 37 which,whe n the shield of FIG. 7 is mounted in operative position, overlies Vt eimplement .body v,portion 13 voutwardly of vthe' opening-ZZ'therein as shown in FIG. l0 in vconnection with a furthermoditication of the invention.

shaving-a Ushaped cut38 n including a base 39 and arms :40 and 41 -and'with said portion 25 is'fprovided'inwardly of 1its rear edge 26 with.y

' an interruptedrcut line 27, withtheopposite ends of said kcut lineformed as semi-circles,respectively, indicated in the drawings bythe reference :numerals ZSand 29. 'The 1 said cut line :from ,said semi-circular portionsthereof conthesaid cutlinese'xtend' f edge 26 of the shield body portion.`V

-verge as at 30 and l31whereupon through the said rear The ends of the `serni-circularrcut V'portions 278 Yand .2 9 are .joined by. aout-line, not Vshown inthe dravtvings,Y that `is parallel to hey interrupted .cut line 27wherefore the mate- Vrial between Isaid llast mentionedV outline, not .shown in .the.drawingsgyandthe.converging cut lines 30 and 31proj fvide arvoid inthejshield'fianked by lears or wings 32a and 33a. The said wings ,32a and33a vare respectively pro- "j 'Y vided with an inwardly extending ear .portion 32 ,.andr33 rforvfurther clampingthe shield to the pointed out. j

- The shieldis .further provided, in effect, withrthe por-tV ftionbetweenthe innerends offthe portions of the .inter- `rupt'edcut line 27,7w1th arearwardly projecting tongue f andfwithtsadtonguefhaving on opposite sides thereof defined, respectively,atits 'forji z interruptedrcutgline portions V27a and :2712, at their respective.endsbythesmi-cirCuIar cut line l portions y28 and 29 andat their rearedg'eby theznotfillus- VVfinger-portions 3 5 and 36 -ward edge by said' implementas is later j Theshield illustrated in 7 yis further modified by vformed therein with said cut arms wetland ".41 stopping .short Lof; the. forward edge 42 ofthe shield fbodygZS. l By thisconstruction there is proy vided 'within the 'shieldrbody portion 25V a tongue 43 vhingedl'y.v or swingably attached ust inwardly of the body portion Aforward Y to thesaid bodyportion 25 along aline .j edgeizwf" t By this4 construction the shield is provided with -a safety device whichacts'ras ya guard for the sharp .piercing point ZtlofVv Vthecan ,opener piercing'iinger A19'. Y Since theshield is formed of relativelyexible plastic,4and after the same fhas lneen-mounted in operative position, that is, with its attaching iingers 35=andf36 beneath the shoulder 21 the Y.

'I body yportion of theV shield'may'be actuated to be substan- Ytrated-.cut Aline parallel with the linterrupted routline 27.1.

The width` of-the ftongues -35t `and 36 --isi-substantiallyl iequal to theiheight .wall member :orshoulder 21.

'In practicethe Y.said fingers 35 .and 36 `are Vl downwardly of the opening 22 infthe' canopener bent, astillustrated in dottedlines in-FlG.` 6 for similar Y iingersfof .thefshield'there illustrated, -;to pass:through'fther openingxZZ whereupomthesaid fingers are outwardlybent, i

as illustrated in-FIG. .lOYffor similar fingers of thenshield .partthere illustrated, to underlieor-engage the inner face of said shoulder 21', all Ias further clearly illustratedin FIGS. 3 and 4. .With the Shield 18 to overli'e, albeit,rin a plane linger `V19l Las illustrated in FIGS.

in FIG. 2, to thereby efiect a }further clampingv of-the Yag'ain's't'vthe underside of By' this construction, -as noted above,

guard for said point 20V-is g accordance with the present invention, and amusing shield-,may belprovided.'v The'tprart illustrated tially fiat onj'the upper surface of th'e piercing'finger 19 andY the tongue/43 v.downwardly pressedfto -be beneath v the ypiercing point 20, all as clearlyillustrated in..FIG.8. a safetyldeviceor 'provided and the can Lopener ,or implementcanrbecarried in the-pocket .without danger to the personforthe fabricLpf the pocket. v

t The vmodification illustratedinfFIG. 9 while invandfo'f Yitself v is not a completeshield iteprovides a structure, in whereby `a novel Iin FIG. 9 may be`designated, as aishieldtattaching means and instead ofjincluding the shield, per se, hasia comparatively long stem V44 Aextendingirom,` the attaching fingers 35 and 36.v The said attaching fingers 35 and 3`6fhaveprojectingfr-om 1th'eir rearedge the stabilizing tngue 37. t

Inipractice the shield attachingrmeans or deviceofrFIG. 9 has its fingers `35 and 36 projected through the implement :opening 2,2 and subsequently positioned against vthe underside ofthe implement wallor'shoulderZI andwith the *stabilizingy tongue 37 V'on the implementbodyportion 13 as illustrated-irl FIG. l0. At this time the stem 44 .of theV attaching device 1s positioned to substantially ver-y tically opstand from thev implement and the said stern has @attached to itsrnow', upperend thejshield body member which'of ,cour'sewould have anv area in excess of the v implement piercing finger I9andjth`e opening vformed thereby.l T he said shield in/thisinstance may take Ithe form of an open umbrella, structurally,l a circle'of material 45,

` plastid-.for example, dishv shapedl andsuitably secured t0 the upper endof the stem 44, forvthereby providing apracf tical vshield yetr havingan amusing and novelappearance It is'to befunderstood that the shield, 'per se, yas illustrated in FIG;LV l0 may takeother forms than a simulated Yopen umbrella'requiring'onlythat the shield have a body rtionfor vdeflec'ting surface oigan area equal ltothe' area of the opening in the can top as effected by the piercing finger 19.

From the foregoing, it will be noted that there has been provided a shield for can top piercing openers and with said shield arranged either directly over the opening as it is being formed or in a plane upwardly of the can top but in each instance in such an operative position as to prevent the gases and canned liquid, as emerging through the opening, from contacting the user.

What is claimed is:

1. A shield for use with an implement which has a body portion of a given width, a can opener of the piercing type that includes a finger with a rear edge of a width substantially equal to the width of the body portion and a piercing pointed free end, a shoulder depending from the piercing finger at the rearward end thereof connecting said piercing finger with the implement body portion and said shoulder having an aperture substantially centrally, transversely, thereof, said shield comprising a body portion overlying the piercing finger and of an area somewhat greater than the area of the said piercing finger, a tongue projecting centrally, rearwardly, of one side of said shield body portion and of a width comparable with the width of the shoulder aperture and disposed through said aperture, and bendable fingers outwardly of the said tongue bent to underlie said shoulder outwardly, radially, of its aperture and thereby secure the shield in operative position above the piercing finger by clamping the piercing finger between the shield body portion and the bendable fingers.

2. A shield for use with an implement which has a body portion of a given width, a can opener of the piercing type that includes a finger with a rear edge of a width substantially equal to the width of the body portion and a piercing pointed free end, a shoulder depending from the piercing finger at the rearward end thereof connecting said piercing finger with the implement body portion and said shoulder having an aperture substantially centrally, transversely, thereof, said shield comprising a body p0rtion overlying the piercing finger and of an area somewhat greater than the area of the said piercing finger, a tongue projecting centrally, rearwardly, of one side of said shield body portion and of a width comparable with the width of the shoulder aperture and disposed through said aperture, bendable fingers outwardly of the said tongue bent to underlie said shoulder outwardly, radially, of its aperture and thereby secure the shield in operative position above the piercing finger by clamping the piercing finger between the shield body portion and the bendable fingers, and ears integral with the shield body portion laterally, outwardly of said bendable fingers rearwardly projecting from said lshield body portion in flanking engagement with the side of the implement shoulder and the implement body portion rearwardly of the piercing finger,

3. A shield for use with an implement which has a body portion of a given width, a can opener of the piercing type that includes a finger with a rear edge of a width substantially equal to the width of the body portion and an upstanding pointed free end, a shoulder depending from the piercing finger at the rearward end thereof connecting said piercing finger with the implement body portion and said shoulder having an aperture substantially centrally, transversely, thereof, said shield comprising a body portion overlying the piercing finger and of an area somewhat greater than the area of the piercing linger, a tongue projecting centrally, rearwardly, of one side of said shield body portion and of a width comparable with the width of the shoulder aperture and disposed through -said aperture, bendable fingers outwardly of the said tongue bent to underlie said shoulder outwardly, radially, of its aperture and thereby secure the shield in operative position above the piercing finger by clamping the piercing finger between the shield body portion and the bendable fingers, ears integral with the shield body portion laterally, outwardly of said bendable fingers rearwardly projecting from said shield body portion in flanking engagement with the sides of the implement shoulder and the implement body portion rearwardly of the piercing finger, and inwardly projecting portions on said ears forming further clamping means underlying the implement body portion outwardly of the shoulder for further securing the shield in operative position by further clamping the implement body portion between the bendable fingers and ears projecting portions.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 135,975 2/73 Draper 30-137 1,495,202 5/ 24 Riddell 40-20 2,077,675 4/ 37 Cross 30-16 2,080,090 5/37 Mumaugh 30-16 2,280,336 4/42 Maihack 30-16 2,675,612 4/54 Waterhouse 30-16 2,775,813 1/57 Middleton 30-1 3,037,279 6/62 Fleming 30-16 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SHIELD FOR USE WITH AN IMPLEMENT WHICH HAS A BODY PORTION OF A GIVEN WIDTH, A CAN OPENER OF THE PIERCING TYPE THAT INCLUDES A FINGER WITH A REAR EDGE OF A WIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF THE BODY PORTION AND A PIERCING POINTED FREE END, A SHOULDER DEPENDING FROM THE PIERCING FINGER AT THE REARWARD END THEREOF CONNECTING SAID PIERCING FINGER WITH THE IMPLEMENT BODY PORTION AND SAID SHOULDER HAVING AN APERTURE SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRALLY, TRANSVERSELY, THEREOF, SAID SHIELD COMPRISING A BODY PORTION OVERLYING THE PIERCING FINGER AND OF AN AREA SOMEWHAT GREATER THAN THE AREA OF THE SAID PIERCING FINGER, A TONGUE PROJECTING CENTRALLY, REARWARDLY, OF ONE SIDE OF SAID SHIELD BODY PORTION OF A WIDTH COMPARABLE WITH THE WIDTH OF THE SHOULDER APERTURE AND DISPOSED THROUGH SAID APERTURE, AND BENDABLE FINGERS OUTWARDLY OF THE SAID TONGUE BENT TO UNDERLIE SAID SHOULDER OUTWARDLY, RADIALLY, OF ITS APERTURE AND THEREBY SECURE THE SHIELD IN OPERATIVE POSITION ABOVE THE PIERCING FINGER BY CLAMPING THE PIERCING FINGER BETWEEN THE SHIELD BODY PORTION AND THE BENDABLE FINGERS. 